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Photo: Philadelphia Inquirer
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Faith can give you the confidence to make bold moves, and after Michael Sturns won last year's Sixth Man of the Year award in the Sun Belt Conference (home to current NBA prospects Courtney Lee and Bo McCalebb) his faith took a big leap forward.
Tired of coming off the bench, Sturns did what few players have the guts to do. He left the Division I program at North Texas and made his way to the Philadelphia based Division II program at Holy Family University to play for Alfred Johnson. Since then, Sturns has developed into a scorer that simply dominates.
Sturns averaged an impressive 26.7 points per game this season to become the Division II leader in scoring. His closest competitor trails him by 149 points. “You look across the country and a lot of kids can’t score," said Coach Johnson. "Michael can not only score, but he can also shoot the ball incredibly well.”
Sturns played point guard during his three seasons for North Texas, but upon arriving at Holy Family, Coach Johnson soon identified scoring as Sturns' calling card. “We began the season with him at the one,” Johnson remarked, “but his ability to score was evident to everybody, so we moved him.”
I've evaluated Sturns' game on three separate occasions and there are several things that remain constant and impressive. First and foremost is his obvious knack for shooting. His linebacker type body is also worth noting as Sturns can dish out as much punishment as he receives when driving to the lane. Lastly, he is not merely an offensive force. His unselfishness and ability to create off the dribble make him a game changer on both ends of the floor. Yet like most prospects, Sturns is not without flaws. His perimeter defense clearly needs work as does his decision making and ball protection when dribbling.
Coach Johnson also remarked on Sturns' off court success. "He's a super kid, a humble young man from a good family. His mother raised him very well and not a lot of people know this, but he has been an honor student all four years of college".
Doubters of Sturns’ competition level would be surprised by the number of Division I transfers the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contains. Coach Johnson added, “This is solid basketball across the board. As Michael (Sturns) puts it, instead of there being 8 guys per team on Division I that are talented, there might be 2 or 3 guys per team at the Division II level.”
The word is spreading about Sturns as a handful of NBA teams have been seen around gym at Holy Family. It will be interesting to see what the future holds, as he should get noticed by the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament committee. Teams would be wise to take time to evaluate Sturns, who will hopefully get the opportunity to participate in the P.I.T. in front of NBA scouts and GMs. If Sturns plays up to his ability perhaps teams will look past the Division II label and view him for what he is - a legit prospect that could warrant a spot in the NBA draft.
Regardless of what happens, Michael Sturns has already proven one thing - faith pays off.
View his player profile.
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